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Patients in Broadmoor Hospital from the South Western region: an audit of transfer procedures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Jeanette Smith ,
Martin Donovan  and
Harvey Gordon
Jeanette Smith
Affiliation:
The Butler Clinic, Langdon Hospital, Exeter Road, Dawlish, Devon EX7 0NR
Martin Donovan
Affiliation:
The Butler Clinic, Langdon Hospital, Exeter Road, Dawlish, Devon EX7 0NR
Harvey Gordon
Affiliation:
Broadmoor Hospital, Crowthorne, Berkshire RG11 7EG
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Broadmoor Hospital is one of the three special hospitals covering England and Wales. It provides approximately 500 beds for mentally disordered patients who on account of their dangerous, violent or criminal propensities constitute a grave and immediate danger to the public, requiring treatment in conditions of special security (Section 4, National Health Service Act, 1977). It is generally recognised, however, that there are patients in special hospitals no longer requiring treatment in conditions of maximum security. These patients could probably be more appropriately cared for elsewhere if the facilities existed in general psychiatric hospitals or the community. However, special hospital consultants frequently encounter significant obstacles when attempting to transfer patients to local hospitals. Dell (1980) highlighted this problem, suggesting that 16% of special hospital patients were waiting to leave, following the agreement of the DHSS and the Home Office to their transfer. This delay appeared to be due to hospitals not wanting to accept patients who might prove to be difficult or dangerous. At the time of this current study (March 1990) these difficulties in transferring patients were particularly relevant as two of the special hospitals, Broadmoor and Ashworth (Park Lane and Moss Side) were full for male patients and therefore closed to male admissions, despite a continuing demand for beds.

Type
Audit in Practice
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , February 1991 , pp. 81 - 84
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1991

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